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Monday, October 17, 2011

Menu Plan Monday ~ Week of October 17th

I strayed from last week's menu a bit. I only prepared two of the five meals that I planned for last week. Mainly, because I was really in the mood for soup!

In addition to the Hamburger Soup (from the freezer) that was already in the plan, I made some Chicken 'n' Dumplings (for the first time ever!) and threw together a pot of Chicken Corn Chowder. Both of those meals used ingredients that I already had on hand.

I used 2 chicken carcasses from the freezer to make homemade chicken stock for the Chicken 'n' Dumplings. There was also enough meat on the chicken frames to use for the meal!

Out of the three meals we missed last week, I'll be carrying two of them over into this week's menu plan. I'm going for an easy menu, since I've got a lot of housework to catch up on this week. Grace has this place a mess!

So, here's my easy menu plan for this week:

Beef Stew. I intended to use the beef cubes last week in our favorite Pepper Steak recipe, but I'll use them for stew instead. I have a lot of potatoes and carrots that need to be used up or made into veggie broth, but I don't have room in the freezer for the broth....so, stew it is! I love this easy recipe, it can be made in either the oven or the crock pot!

Corn Dog Casserole. I found a bag of those mini hot dogs in my freezer and figured it's a good time to make a Corn Dog Casserole. This is such an easy, filling dinner. We usually get two nights from one casserole, especially if I make some baked potatoes or tater tots to go along with it.

Sweet 'n' Sour Meatballs. This has been on our menu plan several times recently, yet for one reason or another, we never get to it. I'm determined to use that bag of meatballs that's taking up space in my freezer. I'm want to get my hands on some free or cheap turkeys in the next couple of months! Those meatballs need to go! I just can't decide which way to make them...with cranberry sauce or with grape jelly. I use the slow cooker for both of these recipes, so they are both really easy!

Breakfast for Dinner. Bacon, eggs, fried potatoes. We didn't end up with breakfast for dinner last week. I decided on eggs this week, instead of our usual pancakes or waffles. I just haven't decided if I want to make this into an omelet or make everything separate. I'll be using the turkey bacon we picked up on sale last week.

Oven-Fried Chicken Cutlets with mashed potatoes and steamed veggies. This was another one of the dinners we didn't get to last week. I kept forgetting to take the chicken out of the freezer. Every time I went down stairs to get it, I would get side-tracked by throwing in a load of laundry or bringing up a basket of already folded clothes, etc. and each time, I would come back upstairs WITHOUT the chicken I went to the basement for in the first place! I'm so absent-minded lately!

Leftovers, Leftovers, Leftovers. I don't plan on freezing any leftovers this week. So, we'll eat these meals until they are finished. That'll give me a couple of extra-easy nights this week! Gotta love leftovers!

So, now that you know what we'll be eating this week, share your dinner plans for this week in the comments! Or, follow me over to I'm an Organizing Junkie to find more recipes and dinner planning inspiration on Menu Plan Monday!

Hello! Welcome to Under the Big Oak Tree! My name is Alison, I'm a stay at home mom and housewife. I enjoy cooking healthy, frugal meals for my family. As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a mom. That dream finally came true when my daughter was born. She's the best thing to ever happen to me!